Preview: India vs Bangladesh, Match 3

India will go into their match against Bangladesh a little wary and unsure of themselves, but with the intent to stamp out Bangladesh's challenge and reassert their team's winning aura. Although India have made good strides in overcoming their ability to lose matches from winning positions - notwithstanding the close losses to Australia in the ODI series last year - they still need to achieve the absolute ruthlessness that made the Australian team unbeatable in their decade of dominance in the late 90s and early to mid 2000s. For instance, they need to ensure that once momentum is built, they don't give the opposition a sniff of a chance to snap it back. This very weakness hurt them in the last match, when a potential 300 plus total was restricted to 279, and eventually led to a loss against a severely depleted Lankan team.

Although Bangladesh are a vastly improved side, and are continuing to make good strides, India will still be the overwhelming favourites for this match. However, due to the loss in the previous match, India will not be likely to experiment with the playing eleven and should go in with the same team that lost to Sri Lanka. It might actually help India to lose the toss and bat first, since they would back themselves to win against Bangladesh irrespective of the toss and bowling in unfavourable conditions will help the bowlers adapt better when faced with a stronger team.

Virender Sehwag is likely to be the key man once again, and though critics will justifiably point to his ODI record as far less than what he is capable of (an average of only 34.38), it is revealing to look at his numbers from the start of 2008. Since then, Sehwag has played 39 matches, scoring 1750 runs at an average of 47.3 and an astounding strike rate of 127.9. That means Sehwag has scored at better than 47 runs off 37 balls each time he has come out to bat from 2008 onwards. What the rest of the team needs to do is ensure it capitalizes on the starts that Sehwag provides - which to be fair to them, they have done more often than not.

The bowling is another matter altogether - blowing hot and cold on alternate days. As Dhoni said, if the bowlers can bowl superbly in patches, there is no reason they can't repeat that consistently. The faster men in particular need to get their radar right, because when they do, India are a very good bowling side. On the spin front, Harbhajan Singh has been excellent, giving away just 4.76 runs an over since 2008, when in the age of Twenty20, even a 5.20 economy rate is acceptable.

For Bangladesh, it is a great opportunity to prove that they are not in the tournament to just make up the numbers or because they are the hosts. They are well capable of pulling off an upset against both other teams in the fray, and have grown cricketing wise as was evident in the way they recovered from a collapse in their game against Sri Lanka to post a very decent total. Earlier, losing four wickets in next to no time inside the first 20 overs would have meant Bangladesh folding for a score under 200, but now they have a new found resilience and cannot be taken lightly. Their victory over the West Indies last year - even against the depleted team that faced them - has filled them with confidence.

Bangladesh's lynch-pin will be Shakib al Hasan - a player who has mastered the art of punching above his weight in all departments of the game. The batting mainstays will be Ashraful and Tamim Iqbal, though there are several players capable of chipping in with useful knocks.

If the chips fall Bangladesh's way, and they find some players who can rise to the occasion, India could well find themselves at the bottom of the league table after the first round of matches. However, with the current Indian team displaying a tougher resolve than its predecessors, they will not be likely to let that eventuality come to pass.